No Neighborly Welcome For Pine Water North Side Residents Fight Center Featuring Wal-Mart, 5 Other Stores

Developers of a proposed 40-acre shopping center that will include Wal-Mart and five other stores west of the Newport Highway will face angry neighbors today before the county hearing examiner.

It’s the first hearing on the shopping center, known as Pine Water Plaza, since it was proposed two years ago.

Developers are asking to rezone land just north of Hawthorne Road from residential to community business.

Neighbors say the project, about half the size of NorthPointe Plaza, has no business being in a residential area.

But developers say the surrounding area has changed so much in the past decade that the shopping center is more appropriate than homes.

Spokane County planning staff recommends the rezoning request be denied, mainly because it’s inconsistent with the county comprehensive plan.

However, if the zoning is changed, county planners say the Pine Water Plaza site plan would comply.

A decision is expected in about two weeks.

“Until they cut down the 40 acres of trees that are there, I don’t think anyone can imagine how it’s going to look,” said Karen Barniol, head of Citizens for Neighborhood Preservation.

On Monday, the neighborhood group presented county planner John Pederson with a petition of 4,300 signatures opposing the rezoning request.

Wal-Mart representatives also have signatures - from 2,500 Wal-Mart shoppers who say they’d like a store on the North Side.

The property is owned by Pente Limited Partnership, which includes the Nelson family, who ran a landscape nursery and design business there for almost 40 years.

The project, developed by Colorado Land Consultants, includes a 130,000-square-foot Wal-Mart, an 80,000-square-foot store, two 20,000-square-foot businesses and two small, fast food-sized buildings.

The proposed shopping center is bordered by three subdivisions: Camelot, College Place and Carriage Hills.

Traffic and air quality will likely be key issues in the debate. If approved, center developers will be required to make significant road improvements to State Route 2, and intersections at Nevada and Hawthorne.

Traffic, air quality, noise and environmental experts are expected to testify at the hearing, in addition to the developers and the neighborhood group.

“This is not an anti-Wal-Mart campaign, we simply believe the county land-use policy should be followed,” Barniol said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: Zoning hearing

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: HEARING The public hearing begins at 9 a.m. today in the commissioners hearing room of the Public Works Building.